Russia offered to ban the images of temples without crosses

The State Duma in June plans to consider a bill prohibiting the use of images of temples, mosques and synagogues without appropriate religious symbols, which are an integral part of these structures. In the State Duma, explaining the need for the adoption of a document, they announced a « anxious trend that erases our history and spiritual heritage. » The Russian Orthodox Church previously stated the prohibition of rubbing Orthodox crosses on emblems, posters and textbooks. Representatives of other faiths surveyed “Kommersant” supported amendments.

Billwho recommended to adopt the Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society in the first reading, was prepared by the interfraction group of deputies, including Anna Kuznetsova (EP), Peter Tolstoy (EP), Vasily Piskareva (EP), Nina Ostanina (Communist Party) and Irina Yarovaya (ER). It is proposed to supplement the law “On freedom of conscience and religious associations” by the ban on using the images of buildings and their parts without religious symbols (for example, the image of an Orthodox church without a cross).

Such images cannot be published in the media, on state and municipal emblems, signs and advertising.

The changes, the explanatory note said, will contribute to « improving the conditions for the conscientious attitude of society and the state to traditional spiritual values. » Deputies refer to data VTsIOM and the Public Opinion Foundation, according to which more than 70% of respondents attributed themselves to believers in 2023.

The head of the Civil Society Development Committee, Yana Lantratov (SZRP), recalls the case of the removal of school textbooks on social studies in March, released Publishing house « Phoenix »: the reason was the absence of crosses on the church on the church of Vasily Blessed. Mrs. Lantratova also quoted the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ Kirill, who previously stated that the grouting of the crosses on the images of temples was “a trampling of traditional values” and “an attempt to turn multinational Russia into a non -non -confessional country”.

For the first time, the problem of rubbing religious symbols was started in October 2023, when the Central Bank introduced a banknote with a face value of 1000 rubles. with the image of the church in the Kazan Kremlin.

Now in its building there is a museum of the history of statehood of the Tatar people and the Republic of Tatarstan, and there is no cross on the dome, it was removed in Soviet times. Nearby was depicted Syuymbik’s tower in the Kazan Kremlin, which is crowned by the crescent. The design of the bill caused indignation among representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. The clergyman Pavel Ostrovsky, in particular, stated that most Russians “do not know the history of the Kazan Kremlin” and for them it would be “just a temple without a cross and a minaret with a crescent”. After public resonance of the Central Bank I suspended Banknot design development.

In April, the Ministry of Sports Updated the logo departments, returning the image of Christian crosses instead of rhombuses. The decision was made by the head of the department Mikhail Degtyarev after studying the symbols of the ministry. “When this appeared, who did this, I can’t say, now we are in line,” he said on the air of “Solovyov Live”. Attempts to rub the crosses and distortions of the crosses on temples, mosques, synagogues are becoming more and more, Madame Lantratova wrote in Telegram. “This is not just a misunderstanding, but an alarming trend that erases our story and spiritual heritage,” she said.

The amendments have already been supported by the largest religious organizations, including the spiritual department of the Muslims of the Russian Federation and the Buddhist traditional Sangha of the Russian Federation, it was said in the imprisonment of the Committee, published on June 6. The chief rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar in a conversation with Kommersant stated that he did not object to the adoption of the bill: “We are understanding about the concern of believers of other traditional faiths in Russia when they see images of their religious buildings without their inherent symbols.” “We believe that religious symbolism should be,” said “Kommersant” by the head of the spiritual assembly of the Muslims of Russia, the mufti of Moscow Albir Khazrat Krganov. “If you look at the history of our country, then these symbols were always present, of course, Christian, in the life of the country. They were on the coats of arms and were printed in books. Even medals were awarded with these symbols, including Muslims in the form of a cross. ”

The Russian Orthodox Church, commenting on “Kommersant”, said “unacceptable attempts” to exclude the Orthodox cross from the public space. “It is very good that now the legislative barrier will stand on the way to these attempts,” the Russian Orthodox Church said. “Our fellow citizens should have a reminder that the cross, Christianity form the basis of our identity, having lost which we will lose not only the past, but also the future.”

The bill is planned for consideration for June, follows from the State Duma base.

Polina Motyzlevskaya, Pavel Korobov